


Paper Thin Walls

by BornToLose



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF, Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:35:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22667890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BornToLose/pseuds/BornToLose
Summary: John is sick of Joe's screams when he watches horror movies with his girlfriend.
Relationships: John Deacon/Joe Mazzello
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21
Collections: Deazzello Week 2020





	Paper Thin Walls

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go y'all! The neighbor AU with an ending I don't really like idk. Anyways, enjoy and maybe leave feedback x

John had never hated any of his neighbors - until a certain Joe Mazzello moved into the apartment next to him. At first, he'd thought he was alright and they'd get along as well as neighbors would. He seemed like a nice guy when he'd introduced himself to him about two months ago - and he was. The only thing that had gotten to be a nuisance was that when he was at home - which wasn't that often because apparently he worked a lot - he was pretty loud. Okay, maybe hate was a strong word, but it could get annoying how he could hear almost everything Joe said since the walls were very thin.

Unfortunately, the movie nights with his girlfriend weren't rare. In fact, they seemed to be hosting a horror movie marathon almost weekly and that always happened to be when John was either trying to work on his computer or trying to sleep with a particular emphasis on _trying_ because it was nearly impossible to even relax or do something that required minimal concentration when Joe's loud shrieks made him worry that the wall separating their apartments might break.

Tonight was one of those legendary nights. It had been fairly silent up until now - at least he hadn't heard much of the TV. Looks like Joe finally pulled through with his promise to be quieter next time. But there it was again: the infamous scream. He had a loud voice and for an actor that was a good thing; John only wished he wouldn't remind him of that fact regularly.

"I told you not to open the fucking door!" came the not so faint screeching from his neighbor. "Shit!"

John sighed and put his book - which he had been trying to read in the evenings for months - away, standing up from the couch and marching out of his apartment to complain to Joe about it. Again.

Knocking on his door, he heard Joe sheepishly say to his girlfriend, "Can you open it please?"

"Oh, don't tell me you're scared now!" replied a girl's voice before opening the door. She was obviously not amused by John standing here once again. "It's your neighbor."

"Oh thank God," he murmured in relief, standing up from his seat and walking over to him. "Evening Johnny!"

John suppressed the eye roll this time. He hated the nickname Joe had given him, but he wasn't in the mood and too tired to discuss this now. "Evening. Sorry for complaining again, but could you please be a bit quieter? It's literally quarter to midnight."

"Sorry," he mumbled, chewing on his lip before trying to defend himself, eyes widening. "I know I told you I won't be too loud this time, but have you ever seen Insidious?"

John hadn't and now he wanted to see it even less than before. Still, he nodded sympathetically, deciding to drop it. "Goodnight. Try not to get a heart attack," he said and turned away, heading back to his place.

Admittedly, it was kind of cute how he usually got all shy while mumbling an apology, looking down at his feet. He was probably scared John would call the police on him. He never considered that, though. They weren't enemies or anything and he didn't want to start a war between them, so as long as other people didn't call the cops, he let it be and tried to deal with it on his own, occasionally telling Joe to be quiet. It wasn't his fault that the walls didn't leave much about the neighbors' private lives to the imagination.

As the months went by, the number of movie nights had decreased and John not only thanked God for that, but also Joe. He was finally able to get a decent amount of sleep and he even got to finish this damn book he'd been trying to read for what felt like years.

But one night it got loud again next door and John was ready to fight. He got up from his bed, but stopped in his tracks when he paid attention to _what_ Joe and his girlfriend were saying - or rather shouting - to each other. "I can't do this anymore, Joe!"

"It's just a huge misunderstanding!" Joe protested and John could tell from the sound of his voice that he was on the verge of tears. He didn't want to imagine what he was looking like right now.

"There's nothing to misunderstand about this."

"Babe-"

"Don't call me that, it's over!" She ended the conversation with a loud slam of the door.

There was silence for a moment before John heard weeping from the other side of the bedroom wall. He didn't know if he should come over to check on him or give him some space for now. Maybe he needed someone to talk to? No, he didn't want to be intrusive and rush over five minutes after his girlfriend had broken up with him.

It was way past midnight and even though Joe wouldn't leave his thoughts, he eventually fell asleep, only to be woken up again not much later by the sound of water hitting the tiles of Joe's shower, along with his desperate sobs. John rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock: 2am. Knowing he wouldn't get to sleep anytime soon either way, he got up. Hell, his neighbor (on whom he might have had a small crush, but that was irrelevant) was literally crying in the shower in the middle of the night and he couldn't just lie here and do nothing about it. He _had to_ at least try to cheer him up a bit.

And so he shuffled over to Joe's door, knocking on it yet again, but this time with good intentions. Nobody opened right away, but he could hear Joe turn the water off and John knocked a second time before the younger man finally opened the door a few inches. "I'm really sorry, I know it's late," he swallowed, wiping the remains of his tears away as he looked up at his neighbor.

But little did he know that John couldn't care less about how late it was in that moment. He shook his head. "I'm not coming because of that."

From the way his brows knitted together, his eyes were red and wet and his lips tried yet failed to curl up into his usual smile, he knew Joe wasn't okay at all. Although it was more of a rhetorical question, he asked, "Are you okay? I heard you sobbing and I wanted to check in on you."

"Oh, uh…" Joe contemplated lying to him and saying he was good, but remembering he'd probably heard the whole fight anyway, he told him the truth. "No, not really… My girlfriend broke up with me and I-I'm just trying to stay awake for a while because I can't sleep alone and there's too much on my mind," he explained and John genuinely listened. He couldn't do much about that other than that as he didn't know either of them really well, but he did get an idea.

"Hold on, I think I've got something that could help you," he said, giving him a smile before running off to his own apartment. He scrambled through the flat to find that big teddy bear he'd once won at a funfair. He didn't use or need it, but it was too cute to get rid of. When he finally found it, he returned to Joe, proudly presenting it to him.

"Thanks, but I prefer having a person in my bed…" John found it a silly remark and he couldn't resist rolling his eyes, but he was glad he could make jokes again. It showed him that he wasn't feeling as miserable anymore as he had just a couple of minutes ago.

"Don't be ungrateful."

Joe chuckled and reached out to take the teddy from him, pressing it against his chest. It was soft and warm and he immediately buried his face in it. "Thank you, buddy," he said, a smile growing on his face. "I appreciate it. I'll give it back tomorrow."

John nodded and smiled back a bit sleepily. He was too lazy to give him a proper reply; it was half past two in the morning after all. "Goodnight, Joe."

"Goodnight. And sorry for the circumstances," he apologized once more, closing the door as John walked away.

* * *

Shuffling from foot to foot with the giant teddy bear in his arms, Joe stood in front of John's apartment the next day, waiting for his neighbor to come back from work. He didn't know why he was so nervous, but maybe the looks the other people from the fourth floor gave him made him feel jittery. They probably thought he was bringing someone Valentine's gifts - which he, admittedly, wished was true, but really wasn't.

After what felt like an eternity of holding back his breath, John came up behind him, lightly patting his back. "Hey, Joe! Are you feeling a bit better now?"

It was still surprising how he suddenly acted interested in how Joe was feeling. A few days ago, he had still been knocking on his door to complain about him screaming during horror movies and now he was greeting him in a friendly manner, patting his back and he even lent him a teddy bear in an attempt to cheer him up after his breakup.

"Yeah, thanks for asking," he replied, still thinking before continuing, "Here's your teddy, it really helped. Thank you."

He smiled as he held it out to John. "Oh, you can keep it if you want, I won it at a fair and I don't really use it," he chuckled. "See it as some kind of gift to make up for all the times I got mad at you for screaming in the middle of the night."

"I don't blame you," he admitted shyly.

There was a short pause. "How long have you been waiting for me?"

"About half an hour, I think?" Joe raised an eyebrow. "People thought I was bringing you Valentine's gifts." He grimaced before they both broke out in laughter.

"To be fair, it did look like it when I saw you standing there. I was almost looking forward to our romantic date," John joked, barely thinking about how it could be disrespectful to make such a joke so shortly after his breakup.

"Don't be too forward, Deacon," the younger man smirked.


End file.
